The funeral of a man left paralysed by a violent brawl that shook Cambridge is to be held today (April 7).

Alexander Lloyd's devastated family and friends will gather to remember the young man who died earlier this month.

The then 23-year-old suffered life-changing injuries after being stabbed in a fight outside the Shell garage on Hills Road, Cambridge in September 2003.

The incident shocked the Cambridge community and left Alexander with brain damage and requiring round the clock care.

Alexander had been completing a qualification in estate management at the University of Greenwich at the time of the attack.

Speaking to the News, Alexander's father Chris Lloyd described the huge effort the family had put in to ensure his son was properly looked after.

He said: "He did eventually recover a little, enough to come and live at home with us, but all he could do was move his head a little, to indicate like or dislike, and sometimes smile, and even laugh a little.

"In the past 13 years the cost to our family of trying to keep our son alive has been beyond belief, both in terms of our emotions and financially."

"We always knew it would be a battle to look after him and keep him alive, and a member of the family literally had to be with him 24 hours a day, every day, in case anything happened."